• Question: Will electricity work in space?

    Asked by Naomi to Andrea, Charlie 🚀, Col Op, Kirsty, Vinita on 17 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Kirsty Lindsay

      Kirsty Lindsay answered on 17 Jun 2016:

      Yes, electricity works in space. The ISS has big solar panels to make electricity to power the station.

    • Photo: Charles Laing

      Charles Laing answered on 20 Jun 2016:

      Hi Naomi,

      Yes! It is vital for the International Space Station (ISS) so we can power all of the computers and run all of the great science up there 🙂

      Charlie 🚀

    • Photo: Andrea Boyd

      Andrea Boyd answered on 20 Jun 2016:

      Not in space itself, because there is nothing to conduct it but inside a spacecraft for sure: we have solar panels outside and batteries for when we can’t see the sun, and convert this into electrical power inside the spacecraft.

      The ISS has all the same main power source from the giant solar panels, but inside it is a bit different. The Russian side has lower voltage power outlets and the American/European/Japanese modules have pretty high (220V) power outlets. So you can’t plug equipment from one side in the other side. Also you can’t use water fire extinguishers in the American modules like you do in the Russian modules. The American side uses CO2 or watermist fire extinguishers because water conducts electricity.

      We had to have an emergency spacewalk last year to repair one of the giant solar panels!!

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